Lavellan And Her Commander
by tess-with-a-chance-of-reaper
Summary: A oneshot of the Lavellan/Commander romance going through the events of tresspasser, with a bit of a twist on the romance. Possible bonus chapter to come.
1. Chapter 1

**Lavellan And Her Commander**

* * *

"It's so good to see you Cassandra!" The grin that had broken out on the Inquisitor's face was genuine, excited to greet an old friend she had not seen in many years, "I mean- Most Holy."

Cassandra looked pleased, just as glad to greet her, "It is just 'Cassandra' to you."

They sat down in the sitting room of the Inquisitor's assigned quarters. Discussing matters of the Exalted Council, and catching up on the time that had been missed. As two people that had fought together, bled together and had become true friends regardless of the shaky beginning, they had a lot to discuss.

"Are you and Cullen-"

"Yes we're still-" She stopped abruptly, a sick feeling crawling up her stomach, and she covered her mouth as her eyes widened.

Cassandra watched, stunned, as the Inquisitor ran directly to the window and leaned out, retching noises began as soon as she threw the latches open. Always the problem solver, Cassandra went to the washroom and retrieved a bucket and cold wash-cloth, and sat down on the floor next to the Inquisitor by the window.

"Here, Herald." Cassandra rubbed circles on her back, and held out the bucket.

The Inquisitor collapsed against the wall with a groan, taking the offered bucket and leaning her head on the rim, face obscured from view.

"Are you ill? Do I need to ask for a healer?" Cassandra said, her hand clutching the Inquisitor's free one.

Lavellan immediately shook her head into the bucket with alarm, "I'm not sick I just -urrgh," She retched again, "Have to wait until it passes."

"Now really, you are obviously sick Herald-" Cassandra cut off with a small gasp, eyeing Lavellan's free hand as it rubbed at her stomach almost soothingly.

"Are you …" Cassandra's mouth was agape, a huge beaming grin about to bloom on the edge of her mouth.

The only reply she received was a very slow nod from Lavellan, face still buried in the bucket.

"Maker's breath!" Cassandra exclaimed, as Lavellen's head finally rose from the bucket, sweat making her hair cling to her forehead. She clutched at the wash-cloth Cassandra offered, wiping her face and mouth.

Cassandra was full to bursting with questions, but the first one she asked was; "Does he know?"

"… No." Lavellan's eyes were closed, her face calm, "I was going to tell him but … with everything that's been happening recently I haven't had the chance. In addition to that we're not … married." Lavellan placed both hands on her stomach, "The poor da'len decided to come at the wrong moment." She laughed, wiping her nose and sniffing.

This momentarily distracted Cassandra, "Do the Dalish have marriages?"

"Not formal ones… it's more like an oath… but that doesn't matter anymore because to them this," She gave a firm squeeze to her stomach, "Is an abomination."

Cassandra grew appalled, "Surely they-"

" _No_. To dally with someone who is not Dalish is shameful enough, but to bear their child, to make that oath to them? My clan would not understand, and they know enough about Cullen and I already to abandon me." This was not even mentioning that the child would not have any Dalish blood in their veins, that it -whatever gender it was- would look far closer to human than elven.

Instead of shock, Cassandra felt her anger spark, "This, can only be an amazing thing-" She reached out and placed her hand on Lavellan's, "And clan Lavellan has lost a treasure, and given us gift."

Lavellan laughed softly, "You've grown wiser oh-pointy-hatted-Divine." She and Cassandra shared a smile for a second, and then she looked down, at her stomach, "I'll tell him. I will. Today."

* * *

When Lavellan found Cullen -some hours later, when the sickness had well passed- he was play-wrestling with a dog. Lavellan had never seen a mabari, but she'd seen pictures, and the grey and white hound with odd amber eyes matched the image she had in her head. Well, aside from the fact that it did not look like a war-hound, and was wrestling with a grown man over a small red ball.

"Adalin!" He exclaimed when he saw her, voice muffled by the huge body of the dog as it lied on his face, "Get off me, pup!"

The mabari growled at the word 'pup', but rolled off him and barked happily at the Inquisitor.

She laughed, and knelt down to scratch behind his ears, "You found a dog."

Cullen stood and dusted himself off with a grumble, "They don't breed mabari in Orlais. The merchant said he was abandoned."

"Who could abandon such a handsome guy?" Lavellan crooned as the hound dropped on the ground and rolled over so she could scratch his stomach.

"Perhaps his owners tired of the novelty?" He tilted his head to the side, perplexed.

"That's horrid!" She declared, stopping her scratching and gently stroking the mabari's head as it sat up, "How could anyone get tired of you with your positive attitude and obvious fighting ability!" She beamed at the dog as it barked, and stood up so she could dust herself off.

Cullen scoffed at the red ball in his hands, "He was supposed to dodge it -if it were a fireball he would've gotten scorched."

Lavellan laughed again, "I don't think you know how this works."

Cullen grinned at her, but then his face grew tired and he rubbed at his temples, she could only touch his free hand lightly, as they were in public (and with the amount of spies in the Winter Palace, they had to be careful). He dropped the hand from his head, "Another Ferelden trapped at the Winter Palace - I couldn't leave him to that fate." He smiled at the mabari as he forced his head under Cullen's hand, "Besides -I think he likes me."

"You should take him to Farelden some time. He should know where he came from." Lavellan grinned at him.

He nodded, "I did promise my sister a visit, actually." Cullen frowned jokingly at the mabari, "She might try to spoil you. Remember who you report to."

The mabari barked happily in response.

There was a lull in the conversation, and Lavellan knew she should take advantage of it to tell him her… news. She opened her mouth to just tell him, get it out before she lost her nerve.

Too late, he was looking her right in the eyes with that tiny crooked smile on his lips and she couldn't say anything because, as she always was when he looked at her like that, her tongue tied itself into knots. She looked away -at the mabari- and listened as he spoke.

"The Inquisition will change after this … I'm not sure what that will mean." He said softly, his fingers brushing hers, "Still, I've found certainty in my life now; the council won't change that."

Lavellan glanced at him at the corner of her eye, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear. _That's it_ , she thought, _I need to tell him right now. This second._

Then, in the next breath, just as she looked directly into his eyes to tell him what was going to happen in nine months, she felt his fingers twine with hers, "Marry me," he whispered.

In her shock, Lavellan heard the mabari bark and inwardly laughed, but he'd successfully distracted her from what she was going to say, "What?!" She felt her heart beating against her ribcage like a drum.

"I mean, will you…" He let out a huff of air, hand cupping the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous, "I had a plan, and … there wasn't a dog … but you were … it doesn't matter." He mumbled nervously, with a firm shake of the head.

She turned to him to reply but there was a rustling in the bushes behind him, and the mabari began to growl. Lavellan glared into the bushes, at the spy probably listening on everything they'd been saying. "We're not alone here, Cullen. Let's go." She whistled, and the mabari followed them as she marched towards her quarters. She shut the door behind them and locked it, checking all the rooms and outside the windows for anyone before they continued. Thanking the Creators that she had rooms on the upper-levels.

He was standing beside the sitting area, face open and eyes on her as she came back into the room.

"I've thought of little else," Cullen admitted, eyes softening at the mabari, watching him in his wonderings around the room, "I don't need a plan… only to know if you would." He finished, finally getting to the end he let out a breath, eyes on her and that crooked smile about to bloom.

 _That's it._

" _Cullen_ -well, that is to say that … I'm … pregnant." She finally got the words out, and she realised that this was the first time she'd said them out loud.

His mouth opened slightly, and his eyes travelled down to Lavellan's stomach and back up to her eyes. "You're …" He took an unconscious step forward, "That's …"

"Yours … yes. Cullen I know you just asked me to marry you, but it isn't just us anymore we have a third person to consider and in times such as these -what I mean to say is that I understand if you-" She was cut off by his arms quickly encircling her and crushing her tiny body to his.

He clutched at her as if she was going to disappear, face buried in the crook of her neck and laughter bubbling out of his throat, "Adalin… if you think this makes me want to retract my proposal …" She relaxed against him, wrapping her own arms around his shoulders, finally letting herself relax, she joined in on his laughter. Happiness and joy wrapping around the two like a warm blanket, they sunk to the floor.

His mouth found hers, and they kissed with smiles on their faces, and tears of joy at the edge of their eyes. They were kneeling on the ground, and the mabari had claimed one of the couches to their left.

Cullen pulled away, placed his calloused and scarred hands on Lavellan's stomach, but looked her in the eyes, "You haven't answered," he observed with a grin.

"I will! Cullen, I will marry you." She immediately responded, her heart telling her that this was the right thing. Despite what the Dalish in her kept repeating, she knew that Cullen (and the child that she was carrying) were meant to happen, and could only be great things.

* * *

This was right. This was _perfect_.

"Just so you know … everything was worth fighting for." He told her, reaching for her hands. Cullen had never seen anyone look as beautiful as she did, in the white gown she'd borrowed off Josephine, the sleeves gone and neckline plunging, exposing much of the snow-white vasaslin that stood out on her dark ochre skin, and snaked its way all over her body as he knew.

Her large green-gold eyes were focused on him, her expression adoring, and loving.

 _Maker, I hope this child takes after its mother …_ he thought to himself, swallowing and taking a deep breath.

"It was," she agreed, sharing a small smile with him.

He would go to the ends of the earth to see that smile.

"And now-" He meant to continue, however the mother doing the ceremony interrupted, "Now is the part where you make a promise."

"An oath," Lavellan corrected, her teeth showing with her beaming grin.

Cullen cleared his throat, and nodded, "I swear unto the Maker and to the Holy Andraste-"

"And the Creators-" Lavellan interjected, to which she saw his lips twitch.

"And to the Creators, to love and cherish this woman the rest of my days." He felt his eyes glance down at her belly, and felt his throat choke with emotion at the thought of _their_ child, "On this oath, I swear that any children born of us will grow up loved, and safe in the world that we have fought to save."

Lavellan's eyes had tears at the corners, and he reached up, cupped her face and wiped them with his thumbs. Leaning forward, their lips brushed gently at first, then the pressure increased, and Lavellan reached to tangle her hands in his hair as they kissed, and sealed their new found status together, as partners for the rest of their lives.

* * *

It was familiar, to be standing at a war table discussing and arguing over disastrous events, it almost seemed like old times.

However, there were a few differences.

Corypheus was not back at their doorstep; no, this time it was the Qunari. Using and abusing elven magic to twist it into starting their war, Lavellan was frustrated, tired, and frightened.

The pulses in her mark were getting worse.

It had been enough to hide them from when they were nothing more than an irritation. No one noticed her when she put her hands behind her back and pressed her thumb into the mark as hard as she could to put pressure on it so it wouldn't hurt. She figured it was good practice. But now? Now the searing pain had green lights accompanying it, and even though she knew to wear gloves, the marks light had always burned through at its strongest.

She'd thought … there'd be more time. She had no idea how to break it to Cullen, that the happy ending that had been only a few paces away was now seeming like an impossibility.

Josephine turned to Leliana, her voice more drawn out and nowhere near as energetic as usual, "Your agents confirm that there were gaatlok barrels in Denerim's palace?"

Leliana sighed with frustration, she'd already said so, and hated to repeat herself, " _Yes_. _And_ in Val Royeaux, _and_ across the Free Marches. The Winter Palace is not the only target."

Cullen looked between them, eyes eventually settling on Josephine, "The Qunari are one order from destroying every noble house in the known world."

She sighed, "There is a bright side, warning the ambassadors will remind them of the Inquisitions value." Lavellan admired Josephine's ability to always attempt to find the silver lining and point it out, and nearly complimented her on it but held her tongue.

"Not when the Inquisition is responsible for that threat." Leliana disagreed, arms meeting behind her back.

Lavellan eyed her, "I take it you have new information."

"The elven servant handling the barrels has disappeared. Notes in his quarters suggest he was a Qunari Spy." She reported, voice even.

Josephine interrupted, "But the servant was Orlesian, that implicates Orlais, not _us_." She vehemently declared.

Leliana maintained her level reporting tone as she quipped back, "But the barrels arrived at the Winter Palace on the Inquisition's supply manifest."

Cullen sighed in frustration, rubbing at his forehead with one hand, "How are we supposed to fight a war when we can't even trust our own people?" He demanded.

Lavellan quietly agreed with him. She had never understood the reason for the Game, or why people felt the need to sneak around what could be said out loud and directly to peoples faces. But she played anyway, because as the Inquisitor it didn't matter what her beliefs were, only that what she was doing was good for all.

She took a deep breath, "Do you know who got the barrels onto the Inquisition manifest?" _So I can zap them with chain-lightening?_ She asked, finishing the sentence in her head. But she bit her tongue, as she always did, when she knew she would say something foolish.

"Yes," Leliana shuffled her feet, "Several of the Inquisition's elven workers have gone missing. I had their backgrounds checked. They joined the Inquisition after fleeing the chaos in Kirkwall."

They all glanced at Cullen, but he was looking contemplative, "I remember when Kirkwall was at its worst. Many of the cities elves converted to the Qun to find a better life."

"And the Qunari turned them into spies," Josephine finished, eyes desperately sweeping the table in front of them.

Lavellan scoffed, fed up, "A few years ago we riled at the Templars for becoming corrupt, we did the same to the Grey Wardens. Now look at us."

Josephine heavily sat down in one of the chairs, breath leaving her in an exhausted rush, "I fought to protect the Inquisition in this Exalted Council. And for what?" She looked at the faces around the table, "So we could deceive and threaten those we _claimed_ to protect?"

Cullen turned to her, jaw clenched in anger, "Once we locate the spies-"

She jumped up from the chair, standing her ground, "This isn't _about_ the spies! You hid the Qunari body. You've all but seized control of the Winter Palace!"

"We did what was _right_. Not what was politically convenient!" Cullen disagreed.

"Do you know what this has cost us with Orlais and Ferelden? They are planning to dismantle us as we speak!" She looked towards the wall, her voice weakening, "And perhaps they are right-"

Without any warning, Lavellan cried out in pain as her mark flared up. The green light snaking all the way up to her elbow. She had to keel over to get the pain under control, "Argh!" She cried, the unnatural green light of the mark reflecting off the dark colours of her skin. Elven ears low and breaths shallow and haggard. She clutched at her wrist as if trying to cut off the pain stemming its way up her arm from the mark.

She looked up, eyes stinging with the pain, to see her advisors slowly walk around the war table, silent for the first time in hours. She couldn't bite her tongue any longer, she had to let them know, if she was going to die (lose _everything_ as soon as she let herself have it), then she was going to complain as much as she liked.

Lavellan had not voiced one word of complaint. Not once since this whole thing had started.

The mark flared up again, and she screwed her face up against it, "Shit! Damnit!" She swallowed bile as it tried to leave her stomach, "We save Ferelden, and they're angry! We save Orlais, and they're angry!" She forced herself to stand taller, pacing around in watching the green light of the mark's pulsing bounce off the walls in a garish display, "We close the Breach, _twice_ , and my own hand wants to kill me!" She held the aforementioned hand in front of her face, glaring at it, "Can't anything in this fucking world just stay fixed?!" She cried, finally getting to say what she'd always wanted to.

Cullen had already known her thoughts, they shared everything with each other, but Leliana and Josephine looked aghast.

She gripped the bridge of her nose, and concentrated on the first step, as always, "I need to get to the Darvaarad. You can fight amongst yourselves once I'm-" She couldn't say _gone_ , not once she saw Cullen's face, "Once I'm back."

Cullen rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, as if he knew it might be the last time. Lavellan knew he didn't want to let her go. Her husband. He wanted her to stay, take care of herself and their unborn child, the world could wait to be saved by someone else. But he knew that wasn't who she was. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled his scent one last time before pulling away.

"Thank you. Inquisitor." Leliana nodded, her eyes downcast and sad.

"Would you …" Josephine's brow was furrowed, her voice melancholy, "Would you like us to inform the Exalted Council of the danger?"

" _Yes_." _Let them know what they're putting me through_ , "If we fail the Council needs to know what happened."

"I will inform them personally." Leliana nodded, her eyes steeling.

Josephine's voice softened, "Leliana… I can-" Her words caught in her throat.

"No." Leliana vehemently shook her head, "Your job is hard enough already. This is my responsibility."

Cullen motioned with his hand, but his eyes had never left Lavellan, "I'll have guards ready at the eluvian. In case the Qunari attack the palace," He said.

Lavellan nodded, her unmarked hand reaching for the door, "Maker watch over you." Leliana prayed.

"Creators watch over you." Cullen's voice was hard, as if he was staving off emotion.

Lavellan couldn't bare to turn back, if she did she knew she wouldn't leave him.

She had to stay strong. Do whatever she could to return to them, the only family she'd had for three years, her adopted clan. Go to any lengths possible, simply to survive.

* * *

Cullen had always known that the Inquisitor could protect herself. He knew that no matter what they were facing, what troubles she would find herself in, that she would fight as hard as possible to return. Because that was who she was; a survivor. She'd lived through closing the breach, twice. She'd lived through physically being in the face, twice. She'd faced down Corypheus with barely a quiver in her hands.

And she'd always come back to him.

They'd shared their deepest fears and insecurities with each other, trusted that the other person would know exactly what to say to offer comfort and safety.

But this time, this time there was nothing he could say.

Recently married, he'd hoped that they would be able to live their new lives out together with their child. The ray of sunshine that they'd been granted in these desperate situations. Now it didn't matter what he'd thought … he could lose it all.

He could not stop watching the eluvian.

Watching the landscape of the fade on the other side shift and change and move, almost wanting to reach out and step into it, to follow in his wife's footsteps. He he'd always known she'd come back, and he had complete faith in her skills, but now he couldn't help but worry. It wasn't her alone that he worried for, although the dread he felt in the pit of his stomach was all encompassing, he worried for their child.

 _Maker, what if she didn't come back?_

Hands shaking, he couldn't stop himself from pacing in front of the eluvian and the soldiers stationed beside it. There had been days where withdrawal was at its absolute worst, and besides the uncontrollable quivering, and the ache that each individual bone echoed through his body. Not to mention the migraines. Suddenly, the dull pain that had accompanied him ever since he'd left the Templars behind him seemed small compared to the giant sense of foreboding and dread hanging over his head.

His breathing was shaky, and he was about to bark more orders at the soldier on the left of the eluvian who appeared to be almost falling asleep at his post when he heard a small crack coming from the eluvian.

It took all of two seconds to register what was happening, and Cullen dove out of the way as three people charged out of the rippling surface of the mirror.

Immediately standing, he counted the people who were lying on the ground catching their breath. Varric, hands still clasped on Bianca as if he still intended to fire, Thom Rainier, leaning over and clutching his side as it appeared to be bandaged, Sera as she concentrated on helping her friend, tears streaming down her face as she threw a broken bow to the side. All of them were covered in blood and grime, as if they'd been slogging through hell and had returned to tell the tale.

Cullen opened his mouth to demand where Adalin was, when suddenly The Iron Bull charged horns first out of the eluvian hammer bloodied and eyepatch missing, a scowl on his face, " _Vashedan_!" Turning, he spat a mouthful of blood on the ground.

Cullen didn't give them a chance to breathe, not even stopping to wonder why Bull had suddenly appeared when he'd been left behind, "Where is she!?"

Sera whipped blood and sweat out of her still wet eyes, "She went through one of those bloody mirrors!"

Varric, breathing still ragged, continued where Sera stopped, "It sealed behind her, Curly. We couldn't get through - the remaining Qunari chased us out."

Cullen felt his stomach drop, his throat drying up at the news. He felt frustration surge through his veins, and he heard his knuckles crack as his fists clenched in utter rage. _She's gone, she's not going to back_ , the words played on repeat through his mind, as if they'd been seared there forever. Loss surged through his veins like fire, suddenly he was mourning her and he wasn't even sure if she was dead. But … she couldn't dead, she … it just couldn't compute in his mind what he was thinking. IT just would not process.

Clutching his sword, "I'm going in after her," He declared, stepping towards the mirror, still rippling from the many people coming through it.

Then he spied a spot of colour in the surface … blue and silver … her robes! Dropping his sword, he started pushing the others out of the way, then he turned to the soldier, "Go get a healer! Now!" He ordered, he needed her to be ok immediately as she came through, and even if she wasn't injured, Rainier still needed one for his wound.

He felt his brow furrow, noticing how slow the progress of the colour was, how close to the ground. Then a blood-covered hand reached through, and the rest of Inquisitor Adalin Lavellan crawled through the mirror.

At first he felt complete relief, and he knelt in front of her, crushing her immediately to his chest and murmuring into her blood coated hair, " _Thank the Maker_ ," He whispered, but then he felt her go limp, unconscious in his arms. And he pulled away to assess the damage. As soon as he noticed her arm -or rather, what was left of it- his eyes widened, and he picked her off the ground to carry her to the healer himself.

* * *

"Cullen. Let. Me. Up. _Now_." She ordered, her voice severe, "I need to get into that council meeting."

It appeared as if he was going to stop her, "You need to rest. Josephine-"

"Will not last long." She pointed at the writ, resting on her legs, "I need to settle this. Once and for all. _Help me up_."

He sighed, knowing that Adalin would go even if she had to crawl there herself -with one arm and all. He helped her change into the formal attire, rolling up the sleeve of her bandaged stump to display the injury proudly, as an honour. Because that's how they both saw it.

He stayed at the back of the room, watching as his wife marched in on the Exalted Council.

They were saying, "If the Inquisition is to continue, it must to so as a legitimate organisation. Not as a glorified mercenary band!"

Lavellan halted next to Josephine, who looked shocked to even see her standing up, let alone ready to fight with her for the Inquisition, "Inquisitor?"

With her only remaining hand, she brandished the writ and held it high enough for all to see, "You know what this is?" She turned, and then met the eyes of the people on the council, "A writ. From Divine Justinia authorising the formation of the Inquisition." Her voice echoed throughout the hall, and Lavellan turned to face the people crowded around, "We pledged to close the breach, find those responsible, and restore order." She turned and spied Cassandra, up on the podium with the rest, "With or without anyone's approval." Who with a small quirk of a smile, nodded at her.

"But … if the Inquisition now threatens the very stability it helped create, it is clear our time is done." She swallowed, sure that this was what was necessary, but loath to end her life's work with only a few words.

She spied Cullen behind the crowd, and he urged her on with only a nod and an encouraging smile that pulled at the scar on his lip, "We will not become what we once fought against." Her voice softened, "We do not have the luxury of corruption and complacency." She looked down, then turned back to the Council, "If this organisation has become too large to do its job, there is only one solution." She turned to Josephine, sadness in her eyes, handing the writ to her and meeting her eyes, "Effective immediately … The Inquisition is disbanded."

Commotion erupted in the hall, but the only Lavellan could concentrate on was placing one foot in front of the other, to make her way out of the hall and back to her quarters where she should be resting. Cullen wrapped his arm around her waist as she passed, silently offering his support of her decision and her as she struggled to remain upright.

And the next day they both marched out of the Winter Palace, their future suddenly freed and spread out before them, welcoming the two now retired veterans with open arms.

* * *

 **Is anyone else obsessed with idea of Papa!Cullen? Is it just me?**

 **SO this is a simple Oneshot of Adalin Levellan as Inquisitor, romancing Cullen through the events of trespasser. I thought I'd put my own spin on some things, just because I could. I just love them both so much. Adalin, originally was just a Dalish rift mage that wasn't Inquisitor in the main fanfic that I've tackled, but I wanted to write about Levellan and Cullen, who which was actually my first complete play-through of DA: Inquisition.**

 **There MIGHT be a bonus chapter? Not too sure? Well, when I try to write one thing I usually end up getting brain-waves for something completely different so tbh there's gonna be a bonus chapter. Won't be long though :D**

 **Review please? Let me know what you think! If you wanna meet their kid in the bonus chapter *hint hint***

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

The years had passed as if in a dream.

Almost a year after the Inquisition disbanded, a healthy baby girl was welcomed into the world. Her skin the same dark ochre as her mother, eyes wide and gleaming. The colour of whiskey reflecting the sun, the colour she shared with her father. Weeks passed, and her hair grew wild and curly, the brown tresses gave way to blonde at the ends, hanging down around her tiny shoulders. Her ears sat huge in proportion to the rest of her body, the ends of them slightly pointed, a small thing that only made Adalin Lavellan love her more.

Lavellan and her Commander had never felt joy such as this.

The whole family had been invited to the tiny girls' name-day celebration, they barely fit into the cottage the pair had claimed as their own, but everyone made themselves welcome by the end. The little girl, with her chiming giggles and mass of hair, fit snuggly into the arms of every person in the house. Even The Iron Bull had been spotted cooing over the small child by Sera, who would never let him live it down.

Lavellan had insisted they name the child for her sister, who died in the explosion at the Conclave all those years ago. So on that day, Larayis Lavellen-Rutherford was welcomed to the inner circle, sat on her Uncle Varric's knee with the Mabari sat right next to them, guarding his charge with a solemn tail-wag. A smile never too far from her face, grew up one of the most loved, and spoiled children in Ferelden.

After all, it wasn't every day that a little girl could say she was on first name basis with the Divine.

* * *

Quietly, Cullen worried that the child often had terrible nightmares.

Ray would wake up in the dead of night, sweaty and terrified of what she had seen in her dreams. Maybe she could get back to sleep, if she squeezed her eyes closed and buried herself beneath the blankets, trying to hear the comforting sound of her Papa's snoring from across the hall. But most of the time that didn't work, so she dragged herself out of bed, clutching the stuffed griffon Dorian had given to her when she was born (and named Cookie) to her chest as if the toy would guard her with its life, she found her way to her parents' room.

The fire was always burning warmly in there, the embers casting a comforting orange glow throughout the room.

Whenever Ray wandered in there, one or both of them was always awake. She knew they suffered from nightmares as she did, and sometimes that would keep them both awake well into the night. So when she knocked on the door, still shaking off the effects of that nightmare, a loving smile and a hug was never too far away.

"Mamae… Papa?" Ray whispered, peaking her head around the door into their room.

Cullen was awake, sitting up reading a book in bed with Lavellan curled like a cat into his side, her head resting on his leg and the blankets wrapped around her shoulders. He rubbed his fingers into his eyes to clear away the blurriness, and smiled at his daughter as she lingered in the doorway, "Can't sleep?"

She stepped closer into the room, "I had a bad dream," She admitted quietly.

Carefully, Cullen scooted over on the bed, Lavellan shifted irritably in her sleep but let him move over all the same, making room for Ray to crawl under the covers to keep warm.

As the little girl curled into his side, a miniature reflection of her mother, he wandered at how often these dreams invaded his daughters' mind. Was he being paranoid? His Templar training had been so long ago, yet it still had an effect on how he viewed the world. Without the powers lyrium granted him, he was unable to sense if any magic lingered around Ray, and he'd longed since gave up on trying to feel the effects around Adalin.

"I saw a war," Ray whispered into his side, and Cullen looked away from his book at the mountain of curly hair, and the face of his daughter buried into his side, her eyes squeezed shut as if remembering, "There were these… monsters on the field, they had skulls and bones poking out of their skin, which was blistered and marked and covered in blood." She shuddered, "There were so many of them. I saw a giant one, with horns and nails as sharp as daggers, pick up a man in gold armour as if he weighed nothing, and crush him with its bare hands."

Cullen could only feel horror at the story Ray was telling him. It sounded like… Ostagar. But it couldn't be, she was dreaming of a battle that had been lost over decades ago, they were no where near the ruins of the place, so why was she dreaming of it?

"And when the signal flared out over the battlefield the soldiers let themselves feel hopeful, but then they watched as the reinforcements turned and fled." Ray looked up at him through the curtain of her hair, her brown eyes so much like his and reflecting the dim light, "This happened didn't it, Papa? It was so real."

He found that he could not lie to his daughter, not when she looked at him like this, "Yes," He breathed, and glanced at his wife as she mumbled and shifted in her sleep once more, wishing she was awake to help.

Ray swallowed, her shaking started up again, no longer a factor of the cold winter air, "Papa, am I… going mad?"

" _No_." He declared softly, pulling her up so their eyes were level, "You are _not_ going mad, Ray." He couldn't think of anything else to say on the subject, but his reassurance did help stop the poor childs' shaking, and she buried her head in his neck, wrapping her surprisingly strong arms around him in a hug. He dropped his book, and returned the gesture with one arm around Ray, and the other on Adalin's back, stroking soothing circles into it.

Ray pulled away first, shaking her Father with the intensity in her eyes, "I'm _not_."

* * *

Varric had come to visit, so had Thom and Sera. They were all outside in the gardens, created and stoked by Adalin's need to be by blooming nature. Sera was playing with Ray and the Mabari (who had been named Leo). They were rushing around chasing each other through the gardens, their laughter and shouting echoing through out the fields surrounding the cottage.

Thom and Varric were seated at the table they'd dragged outside,

"So, how's the married life treating you Herald?"

"Thom, you know you're the only one in Thedas that still calls me that." The rest of the world had easily forgotten, even though the effects of what had transpired had passed only ten years ago were still fresh, the people that had taken part in them were fading into the background.

"Old habits," Thom grunted with a kind smile.

Varric wasn't having any lull in conversation, "Okay so I figured something out, Viney. Look at this." 'Viney' was Varric's nickname for Adalin, he often said that her pale green vallaslin held the appearance of vines, and then promptly named her so.

He was reaching into the pack he'd brought, and pushed a box across the table towards Lavellan.

As she ran her hand over the carvings on the box (trees and leaves and flowers, carved simply into the wood), Cullen ordered Ray back to the table for something to drink. Sera poked her tongue out at 'Commander-Tight-Face', but let the mabari Leo drag the two girls back to the rest of the company.

Ray, ever the curious child, climbed up onto her -slightly higher- chair right next to her Mamae. Using Adalin's stump as a balance, she kneeled on her chair to get a better look at the box, "It's very pretty Mamae."

"It is da'len," Lavellan agreed quietly, finally opening the latch on the box and lifting the lid.

Lavellan hadn't known what she expected to see upon opening Varric's gift, but it hadn't been this.

The velvet lined the odd contraption in there, it had fur-lined padding on one end that looked slightly like a bowl, with leather straps on the side and all the way down. It wasn't a false hand, because the metal dome of sharpened metal all met into a deadly-looking point at the end. The cone shape rather small in proportion to the rest of it.

Ray's eyebrows creased, and she sat back down on the chair in confusion, "I don't get what that is."

Varric raised a finger, "That is a very easy question to answer; with the help of Madam Vivienne, one of your mother's fellow Knight-Enchanters, Bianca and I-"

"Your bow?"

"-The actual person this time, Sunshine- we were able to craft this item that would allow your mother to continue to practice her magic. Well, this specific part of it."

Adalin's pointed ears twitched in her excitement, and Cullen sighed, "Do you have to encourage this?" It wasn't that he didn't appreciate that Lavellan was a mage, and that she often missed stretching that muscle, it was that whenever she did things always tended to get… out of hand.

Varric looked mockingly offended, "Well I never, Cullen one would think you didn't support your wife!"

"Cheeky dwarf-"

"Enough out of you two." Lavellan declared, using a mixture of her 'mumma-bear' voice and her 'Inquisitor' tone to make them be quiet. Sera snorted with suppressed giggles at Varric's face, and Thom from his spot in the chair continued to throw a red ball for Leo.

"With that lovely device, you will be able to bend the magic to any shape, rather than just a sword." Varric told Lavellan, leaning over in his chair to take the contraption out of the box.

Ray watched, with her father right behind her and sharing the same bewildered and interested expression, as Varric helped Lavallen attach the contraption to her stump. The fur lining helped, making the thing that would have eventually chaffed terribly far more comfortable than Lavellan thought it would be. The straps first wrapped around what was left of her forearm, then up her bicep to her shoulder to make sure everything was secure and immovable.

Lavellan pushed away from the table, carefully concentrating her magic onto the metal that had always been her affinity, as Vivienne had known when she'd told Varric what to do. Drawing it to the device, and shaping it into something different and whole.

Sera, her mouth half stuffed with the food laid on the table, froze with her mouth hanging open, and Thom let out a jovial laugh at the sight. Suddenly it was like a heavy weight had been lifted, and the rest of the people at the table went from shocked silence to marvelling at the contraption.

Ray remained silent while they discussed the process of making it, dazzled by the golden light surrounding the hand that her mother had always been missing. She rushed to Adalin's side, brown eyes reflecting the warm golden glow of what held the semblance of a magical hand. She kept quiet, almost feeling an ache in her chest at the sight of it, and something deep in her mind pulled her towards the magic, not being able to keep her eyes off it.

Cullen took Lavellan's other hand, smiling at how ecstatic his wife appeared at this new development, "Thank you, dwarf."

"No problem Curly."

Ray was still ignoring them, she and her mother were drawn into their own bubble on the ground. Both of them had knelt, and the spirit-hand hung in the air between them, giving off a warm glow that Ray felt in her chest, making her feel comforted.

Adalin murmured, quietly, "This magic was my spirit-sword. You remember?"

"That story about the Lady Knight-Enchanter and how she slayed the dragon to get to her princess." Ray nodded, only half concentrating on listening, "I remember."

"I didn't know it could make these shapes." Lavellan commented, flexing her magic as if it were an extra muscle, and the fingers on the hand clenched and then relaxed as if in response to it, "I'll have to experiment with it… Ray?"

Ray had stopped listening altogether, that feeling in her gut had overtaken her completely as she stared at the hand between them. She knew it wasn't solid, but she reached a hand out to touch it, as if she would be able to draw the magic into herself to keep that comforted, whole feeling contained in her heart.

"Ray!"

The tiny half-Dalish girl sat on the ground, her eyes wide and staring at the sudden prospect of magic. She'd always known her mother was a mage, the other children in the village often dodged around them at the market such was this fact. But when actually confronted with this prospect she suddenly felt _alive_ , as if she had woken from an extremely long dream.

Ray sat there, on the ground, magic crackling at the edge of her consciousness, the only reflection of it a slight light to her usually dark skin. But her protective father noticed the signs, and ran to the pair without a word, kneeling down next to them.

" _Larayis_!" He called desperately, as Lavellan carefully dissipated the last of the magic in her hand, and all that was left was the slightly pointed metal cone.

Ray jolted as if someone had hit her with chain-lightening, the feeling coursing through her veins was like electricity, and it hadn't abated with the disappearance of the magic. That had only made her desperate for another hit, "Mamae! Bring it back! You have to bring it back!" She yelled, wanting to feel whole again, wanting to feel the magic next to her.

Lavellan desperately gripped her daughter's shoulder, " _No_ , Larayis. Look at me." She ordered, looking to Cullen for more help.

"You _aren't_ going mad," Cullen told his daughter, gripping her hand in his and trying to find her again in the endless ocean her eyes had become, "Come on. Fight this. You're _strong_."

"Whot's wrong with her?" Sera asked, suddenly extremely fearful for her niece. Thom quietened her, and Varric's eyebrows were furrowed and he considered the scene before him with worry.

Then Ray, the nine-year-old daughter of the Inquisitor and her Commander, burst into tears and threw her arms around her parents.

Both of them let out a sigh of relief, for now at least, they had their daughter back. And they both resolved then and there that they would do whatever it took to keep her, both safe and whole with them for a long time. Cullen resolved that he would always love her, he trusted in Adalin's abilities as a teacher and under her instruction Ray would be the best mage the both of them had seen in a long time.

And with Cullen in charge of them both, they would be protected lest anything go wrong.

* * *

 **Cause life never gets boring for these two right? Pretty please let me know what you think? If we're still a huge fan of Papa!Cullen, or if we're tired of it or I don't even know.** **I read the name Larayis somewhere and was like BAM I love that name for a fantasy character so imma use it. Should there be more? Do we want stories of Ray's travels? Pls let me know.**

 **Review!**


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